Seed-corn crate and drier.



0. G. VOLD.

SEED CORN CRATE AND D RIER.

APPLICATION FILED IAIL I4, I9I5.

vaga.

SHIxlToN. D. c.

SEED-CORN CRATE ANI) DETER.-

messes.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dee, 12d, 1915.

Application filed January 14, 1915, Serial No. 2,213.

To aZZwLo/m/ t may concern.'

Beit .known that I, OLE G. VoLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dawson, inthe county of Lac qui Parle and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Seed-.Corn Crate and Drier, of which the following is .a specification.

The present invention appertains to a seed' cornfcrate and drier, and is particularly an improvement over the seed corn crate and drier disclosed in my Patent No. 1,108,412, issued August 25, 1914;. l

Itis the object of this invention to provide' anovel holder and. carrier for @are of seed corn, whereby thevsame may be properly racked for storage or transportation, and whereby the corn may be properlyventilated for the purpose of curing andpreserving the kernels.

As a more specific object, the invention aims to provide `a crate having a unique means therein for supporting the ears of corn in rows orseries, provision being made whereby various sizes of ears may be accommodated,rwith the earsvspaced apart.

- Another object of the invention is the pro-A visionjofgrading means carried by the de-V vice, .whereby the kernels may be graded to selectthe desirable kernels readily.

A still furtherobject of the invention is the provision in a device of the character described, of means for facilitating the testing of the kernels.

Itis also Within the scope of the invention, toprovide a seed corn crate and drier improvedv generally in its construction and details, to enhance the utility thereof.

lith the foregoing and otherobjects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the comf bination and arrangement of parts and in the detailsof construction hereinafter de scribed and claimed, it beingV understood that changes in the' precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed without Clepart-ing ,from the Vspirit of the invention.

"lhe invention is illustrated in its preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe improved crate.` Fig. 2 is a longitudinal-vertical section thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan viewof the device. Fig. i is an enlargedgcross sectional view thereof. Fig. .v5 isa fragmentaldetail 'of the 'cover `or lid, illustrating the' tester. i

In carrying out the invention there is provided a receptacle or container 1, forming the body of the crate, and preferably constructed of sheetinetal. One or lmorebottomless extensions or supplemental crate sections 1,,1nay be employed in connection with the receptacle or body 1, 4to increase the height andcapacity thereof'.l As illus#` trated, one of the extensions o r sections 1 is seated upon the receptacle or oontainer'l, although more than one of the extensions may be employech or the extensions need not be utilized if a low crate is desirable;

Corner posts 2 are secured within fthe cor-f. ners vof the receptacle or container 1y angl" similar corner posts 2 are secured within;

the corners of the extension 1 and theends of the corner posts 2 `may be extendedto fit within the corners ofthe receptacle 1 for holding the extension 1 in place upon the receptacle or body l, although any suitable means may be provided .for this purpose.

A cover or lid Sis provided to lit over the receptacle 1, or its extension 1and.crosse d wires or other elements l are securedto the cover 3 adjacent the bottom or lower surface thereof, thereby to provide cellsorfpockets for receiving lkernels of corn for testing purposes.

, rEhe bottom ofthe receptaclelis provided with transverseslots 5, to permit of the passage ofair through the lbottom offthe crate, especially when the crates are stacked or set one upon the other, and the slots 5 also pro videmeans for grading the kernels, as will hereinafterappear more fully.v The ends of thereceptacle 1 and its extension 1 are provided .with upright Ventilating slots (and theV sides of the receptacle' and extensionare provided with rectangular or elongated openings 7. Reticulated or meshed wire panels 8 are secured to the sides of the receptacle and extend across the openings 7 and permit of ventilation through the sides of the crate, and also prevent rodents from entering the crate through the openings 7.

' The sides of the receptacle and extension are also preferably provided with openings or apertures 9 above and below the openings 7 and panels S, for providing additional ventilating means. The openings or slots 5, 6 and 9 are sufficiently narrow to exclude rats, mice and other rodents from the interior of the crate.

A plurality of racks 10 are adapted to be set one upon the otherwithin the receptacle l and extension 1, and each embodies a pair of longitudinal bars or rails 11, and cross bars 12 secured to the ends of the bars or rails l1. Upright strips 13 are secured to the ends of the cross bars 12, and project above and below the same to provi-de supporting legs, the ends of which are provided with angularly extending portions 14, forming feet and handles. The upper and lower surfaces of the rails 11 are sinuous and corrugated transversely, to provide transverse grooves or recesses 15 and 16 in which the ears of corn are seatable. Each bar or rail 11 is provided with a series of relatively narrow grooves 15 upon one side, and with a series of relatively wide grooves 16 upon its other side, the grooves 15 and 1G of the bars or rails 11 of each pair being in transverse alinement and coperating to receive and hold the ears of corn, so that whenz the rack is held in one position, it will accommodate small ears of corn, and rwhen the rack is inverted, it will accommodate relatively large ears of corn. Removable pins or pegs 19 are engaged into the rails or bars 11 between the grooves or recesses 15 and 1G, to

assist in holding and separating the ears of corn.

VIn practice, to iill the crate, the irst or lowermost rack- 10 isplaced within the receptacle 1, with the proper grooves of the rackuppermost, to receive the ears of corn, and when the first rack is illed, the next succeeding rack is placed within the receptacle upon the lirst rack. Thus, as the racks are filled and set one upon the other, the

crate will become lled with the ears of corn which are arranged transversely between the sides of the case, and which are spaced suitable distances apart to permit of the ventilation of the corn, for the intended purposes. The end or cross bars 12 of the racks fit between the corner posts 2 and 2 for holding the racks snugly in place, and the supporting legs or members 13 serve to space the racks apart andto support one rack upon the other. The portions 14 lof the legs 13 serve as feet and handles, the lower portions 14 providing feet to rest upon the bottom of the receptacle or upon the next lower rack, and the upper portions 14 serving as handles to enable the racks to be readily inserted into and removed from the crate.

lith the present device, a large number of ears of corn may be stored within the crate, and the air may circulate readily through the crate and between the ears. The ears of corn will also be held properly in place and cannot become displaced or mixed. The corn may be readily examined, by removing the cover 3, and lifting the racks out of the receptacle, one at a time, and the cover 3 also serves as a tester. Thus, a few kernels may be taken from each ear of corn contained in the crate, and may be deposited in one of the cells or pockets provided by the crossed wires or members 4 of the cover, and the said cells may be numbered or otherwise designated, in the manner of an ordinary tester, in order that the attendant may know from what ears of corn the kernels were taken. Another desirable feature of the invention, resides in the fact that the slots 5 in the bottom of the receptacle 1 may be utilized for grading the kernels. To this end, a pair of the receptacles 1 is employed, the slots 5 of one receptacle being suiiiciently narrow to retain the desirable kernels within the receptacle, while the slots of the other receptacle are suiiiciently wide to permit the desirable kernels to pass therethrough. The kernels are first placed within one receptacle which serves as a sieve,`to permit the small undesirable kernels to fall through the slots 5, and the kernels retained within the first receptacle are then dumped into the second receptacle having the largest slots 5 which will act as a sieve, to enable the desirable kernels to fall through the slots, while the large undesirable particles are retained within the receptacle. In this manner, the desired size of kernels may be selected from the undesirable kernels.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In a device of the character described, a receptacle, and a plurality of racks disposed one upon the other within the receptacle, and each embodying longitudinal bars and cross bars secured to the ends thereof, the longitudinal bars having grooves for holding ears of corn, and the cross bars being arranged to it snugly within the receptacle and having means seatable upon each other for supporting the racks.

2. In a device of the character describedl` a receptacle, and a plurality of racks disposed one upon the other within the receptacle, and each comprising longitudinal bars and cross bars secured to the ends thereof,

the longitudinal bars having upperl and In testimony that I claim the foregoing lower transverse grooves of derent widths as my own, I have hereto aIXed my signa- 10 and pegs between the grooves, the cross ture in the presence of two witnesses.

bars being arran ed to t snugly within the reeeptael and hgavng supporting members OLE G' VOLD' proj eetng upwardly and downwardly there- Witnesses:

from to seat one upon the other, the racks THEODORE CHRISTIANSON,

being nvertible. CLARENCE L. LARSON.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, 'by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

